UNESCO inscribes Georgian Wheat Culture on Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Wednesday inscribed Georgian Wheat Culture - Traditions and Rituals on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The decision was made at the 20th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in New Delhi.

The member states of the Committee unanimously supported the nomination submitted by Georgia and considered it to be fully in line with all criteria established by the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage

The nomination Georgian Wheat Culture - Traditions and Rituals was submitted to UNESCO for consideration in March 2024. Its preparation was carried out with broad public involvement and inter-agency coordination. A working group was created at the initiative of the Parliamentary Committee on Agrarian Issues, within the framework of which the nomination was prepared at a high level.

The Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Association Georgian Wheat, a number of scientific-research organisations and specialists participated in this process.

A Georgian delegation, led by the Permanent Representative of Georgia to UNESCO Irakli Kurashvili, is participating in the work of the Intergovernmental Committee currently underway in New Delhi. The delegation includes members of the Georgian Parliament and representatives of those agencies that have made a significant contribution to the preparatory process of the nomination.

On December 10, the head of the Georgian delegation addressed the audience at the Committee session, thanking the UNESCO evaluation body, experts and the Committee member states for supporting Georgia’s nomination and recognizing its universal significance.

An official ceremony will be held on December 11 as part of the session. At the ceremony, the Georgian delegation will be presented with a certificate signed by the UNESCO Director-General, confirming that Georgian Wheat Culture: Traditions and Rituals is part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Georgian Wheat Culture - Traditions and Rituals is the fifth Georgian nomination on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. In 2008, Georgian polyphonic singing was included in the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, in 2013, Ancient Georgian traditional Qvevri wine-making method, in 2016, Living culture of three writing systems of the Georgian alphabet, and in 2018, Chidaoba, wrestling in Georgia became a holder of the status of World Intangible Cultural Heritage.